LIVIGNO, Italy, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- While the spotlight was fixed on American Chloe Kim's bid for a historic third straight Olympic title, a 17-year-old from South Korea stole the moment.
Choi Ga-on showed remarkable resilience Thursday in the women's snowboard halfpipe final, stunning the field with a dramatic late surge to deny Kim a three-peat and claim gold at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics.
Snowfall made conditions treacherous at Livigno Snow Park, triggering crashes across the competition. Choi, making her Olympic debut, took a heavy fall on her opening run and scored just 10 points. After brief medical attention, she returned for her second run - only to fall again.
Few noticed her heading into the third and final run. Then Choi delivered the ride of the night.
She landed a flawless, high-difficulty run to score 90.25, the highest mark of the final, vaulting from obscurity to the top of the podium and securing South Korea's first gold medal of the Games.
Kim, two-time defending Olympic champion, led after the first run with 88 points but was unable to improve in her next two attempts.
Choi broke down in tears after the final standings were confirmed, as a smiling Kim rode over to congratulate the sport's newest Olympic champion. The snowboarding prodigy limped to the podium during the medal ceremony.
Japan's Mitsuki Ono, competing in her second Olympics, posted 85 points on the opening run, the first clean ride of the final, and held on for bronze after failing to build on that score.
China's Cai Xuetong, a five-time Olympian, scored 73 points on her first run and added difficulty in her second to post 80.75, finishing sixth. Her teammate Wu Shaotong placed seventh in the 12-rider final.
